


The Struggles of One Monster

by LittleJowo



Category: SAKANA
Genre: Don't Like Don't Read, English Final, Halfbreed!Shigeru, Halfbreed!Yuudai, Halfbreeds, I don't know how to write Shigeru, I really do hate Arata can you tell, Mentions of Rape, Might take this down later, Monster!Taisei, Monsterkana AU, Oneshot, Original Characters - Freeform, Regrets, Short Story, This specific Monsterkana AU created by my sister and I, Trigger Warning!, mentions of gang violence, slice of life?, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 14:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7056835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleJowo/pseuds/LittleJowo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world of monsters and humans, one Yuudai Tanaka tries to deal with unusual circumstances that lead him into trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Struggles of One Monster

I put my black-plaid beanie over my head just as I leave my house. It isn’t the nicest place in the world, but it’s relatively cheap. My mother is paying for it, at least for now, so I made sure she didn’t get anything too fancy. That way I could pay her back. As soon as I got a job, that is.

Speaking of jobs, I’m on my way to a job interview right now. I’m trying to get a small job, at least to start. Hopefully I can make my way up the socioeconomic ladder from there.

At the moment, I’m trying to work as a janitor at a nearby fast-food joint. It’s a pretty easy job to get, and it isn’t as if I have no work experience. I used to stock shelves in an auto parts store. It wasn’t the same as being a janitor, but I’ve had his fair share of messes to clean.

And hey, this place said it was monster-friendly.

At least, that’s what the “help wanted” signs all said. Hopefully they were also willing to help people like me.

My name is Yuudai Tanaka, and I am a half-breed.

xXxXxXx

“So, mister...Tanaka, is it?”

I nod, trying my best to look professional in my less-than-fancy clothes. My hair bristles slightly and my semi-functional gills quiver as I try to keep my nerves in check.

The man interviewing me is human, without question. I can tell that he probably hasn’t seen many monsters; his shoulders are hunched, his fingers shake the paper he is trying to read. He’s obviously nervous.

He reads over the papers, his eyebrows raising on occasion. His gaze freezes somewhere near the bottom of the front page, and I swallow the lump in my throat.

The interviewer is still for a while, then he lets out a deep sigh.

"I’m afraid that...you simply don’t meet the qualifications for this position, Mr.Tanaka.”

I knew that this was probably going to happen, but it’s still pretty hard to swallow. I’d gone to a pretty good university and graduated with a bachelor’s in applied mathematics. I am far beyond qualified to be a damn janitor.

“I can’t say I quite understand, Mr.Sakana.”

“You see, we are quite monster-friendly here,” The interviewer gestures to the room around us, “but you are not quite a monster, are you?”

I bite my tongue, almost piercing straight through the flesh. It’s disgusting to hear that I’m going to be refused a job simply because I’m both monster and human. A job as a janitor, nonetheless.

“No, sir, I’m not,” I take a deep breath, “but I can hide my...my blood. Nobody has to know that I’m not a full monster.”

“I’d really like to give you a job here, Mr.Tanaka, I really would.” Mr.Sakana runs a hand through his messy hair. “But...I really can’t give it to you.”

I fully deflate, no longer making an effort to straighten my spine. My gills flutter and my hair flattens itself. I thank my interviewer for his time, but he stops me.

“I really am sympathetic to your situation, Mr.Tana-Yuudai. I’d like to give you this.” As I turn around he hands me a small pamphlet, and when I open it I see that it’s full of job offers for people like me. I look at him once again, surprised by the gift.

“You have a good day now, Yuudai Tanaka.” Mr.Sakana gives me a nervous smile, and I manage to muster one of my own before turning to leave.

xXxXxXx

I flop down onto my couch with a deep sigh that rattles my gills. I hold up the envelope I got in the mail. It’s from my mother. I already know what it is: it’s a check. Since I don’t receive a paycheck, my mother has been sending me money to support myself. I really hate to do this to her. I really wish she’d stop. I’d rather be homeless than leech off of her hard-earned money. But, no matter what I say on the matter, she ignores it and keeps doing as she does. It’s stressful as well as annoying, but it’s endearing all the same. I know she means well.

I toss the check onto the glass coffee table, leaning my head back. I really should cash it in; I need to go out and get some more groceries. My sensitive nose has been picking up the scent of sour milk for a few days now.

I lay still for awhile before putting on my well-worn SP jacket and a pair of torn slip-on shoes. I pick up the check, as well of some cash I’d managed to scrunge up on my own. I walk out the door, hunching my shoulders to shield myself from the chill.

I walk at a brisk pace towards the bus stop. It’s not far at all, maybe a ten minute walk. I get a few stares from some of the monsters on the way. I always do. Humans can’t usually tell me apart from normal monsters, but sometimes I come across a monster who knows I reek of half-breed. I rarely get any trouble for it, but I’m uneasy all the same.

I get to the stop and onto the bus intact. I sit by the driver, as I always do. I’m closer to the door that way. I don’t much like to be around people when I don’t have to be. The bus lurches to a start with a grumble and a huff, and I’m on my way.

xXxXxXx

As usual, the teller at the bank gives me an annoyed look and asks a few unnecessary questions about the cat I no longer have. He mutters a bit about monsters and some other things I can’t quite catch.

“You have a nice day, Tanaka.”

I wave my hand the way one would swat at an irritating fly and turn on my heel. As I leave the stuffy bank I catch a weird smell. But there are a lot of weird smells around here that seem to always be changing, so I don’t think much of it.

I’m pretty close to my bus stop now, and I’ve got a decent wad of cash in my too-deep pants pocket. It’s still rather chilly outside, and my hair bristles to keep the cold away. The tall neck of my jacket keeps my gills warm.

Even when I arrive at the stop, I can’t shake off that one smell. I wonder if maybe I have something on my, and I try to dust myself off. I get a few more weird looks, and one of them is even stranger than the rest.

He’s a funny-looking monster, what with his large, bug-like green eyes and elephant trunk. And this really odd smile. And he’s staring right at me. Hm.

“What are you looking at?” I snap at him, not really appreciating the way he’s looking at me. He laughs silently, merely closing his eyes and shaking his shoulders. Deciding he’s not worth my time, I shake my head and ignore him.

The bus soon arrives, and I get on. The driver refuses to accept my transfer slip, so I begrudgingly pay the fine for a second time.

And the annoying little freak who was smiling at me before follows me on.

He pays his fine without a word, still with that infuriating smile.

Then, to my dismay, he sits down right next to me. I try to ignore him, but out of the corner of my eye I can see that he’s watching me. Still smiling. Still smiling. Still smiling.

When my stop comes up I stand a little bit too quickly, and I get a bit dizzy. The bug-elephant thing gets off after I do, nodding to the driver. I walk at a brisk pace, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.

And that smell still persists. It’s clinging to me like a vice, and I can’t seem to shake it off. I walk even faster, wanting to get away from the smell, the smile, the dizziness that’s only growing. The monster seems to be keeping pace with me, and I begin to feel like maybe he has some less-than-pure intentions.

I curse under my breath, almost going at a jog. My home isn’t that far off. Maybe if the guy is following me, I get home and lock him out before he gets to me.

I stumble and fall against the wall, and he is upon me almost instantly. I’m still dizzy for whatever reason, but I try to stand and wave him off.

“I’m fine, get offa me,” I mutter. He closes his eyes and shakes his head, but he helps me up. I hesitate before taking his outstretched hand, and once I’m standing I start to walk away.

Instead, however, the monster wraps one arm around my shoulders and tries to lead me elsewhere. I try to shrug him off, now very sure he has something in mind. His grip is firm, and I find that it’s getting harder and harder to keep my feet planted. I refuse to yell.

He’s walking at a slow pace. We probably look like some sort of messed-up parody of a lovelorn couple, leaning on eachother; I can hardly support my own weight at this point.

Pretty soon I’m being led into a nearby alleyway, and my heart sinks. I’m pretty sure I know what’s going to happen now. It’s not all too uncommon, you know, half-breeds being pulled away and murdered. It’s usually pretty brutal, and I can only hope it’ll be quick.

The alley is like a maze to my tired mind, with quite a few twists and turns. After a while, though, the path opens up to a wider area. Waiting for us are two more monsters and a human. I can hardly see them in the deep shade, their figures a blur.

One monster looks like a man-gator. He’s big, but probably isn’t very fast. I might be able to get away if the others leave us alone. The other is a very human-looking woman. The only way she even resembles a monster is that she has these large blue butterfly wings I can’t help but stare at. And the human…

I’m pulled even closer, and I can recognize him. I know him. I’ve known him since high school. The man who had terrorized me for two years, who insulted and beat and raped me numerous times.

Arata Tasaki.

He’s got that shit-eating grin as he looks me up and down. I growl at him, a sound that would scare off any other human. But not this one. Instead it only seems to amuse him.

“Well if it isn’t my oldest friend,” He steps up to me, and the monster behind me takes a fistful of my hair and holds me firm. My world spins, and I can just make out Arata’s scraggly five o’clock shadow and stupid This Guy hat. “How’s it going, bud? Having a good time? It wasn't easy to find you, you know. Had to do a bit of research.”

I try to bite him. He pulls back a bit with a laugh. He reaches behind me, and the monster holding me still hands him something. Arata holds up a small vial full of a dark purple powder.

“See this here? It’s a handy little pheromone, courtesy of my pal Lenora over here.” He nods his head over to the butterfly woman, who spreads her wings and allows some of the powder to fall from her wings. I could just barely see it sparkle. It stinks, and I realize that was the smell I’d been carrying around. “It’s kinda like getting drunk, isn’t it? You’re all dizzy and sick?” He laughs, a loud whoop of a laugh.

The largest of the monsters comes up and looms over me, his forked tongue flicking around, catching my scent in the air.

“Do you feel a little drowsy?” Arata asks me, grin splitting his face in two. “You probably need a nap, dont’cha?” The monster behind me moves away, and I almost fall over before Arata catches me. “Woah there, bud. Wouldn’t wanna hit your head now, would you?”

My vision goes darker and darker, but I fight it. I bite at whatever I can, hoping to send a jolt through at least one of them. My bites can’t seriously injure anyone, but it’d make a pretty good distraction. The electricity might even knock one of them out for a while.

I can’t seem to land it, however, since now Arata’s fighting to hold me still. As I am now, he’s way stronger than me.

And so is the big guy who just hit the back of my head. I fall forward, smashing my face on the cracked pavement. I think I’ve gone blind.

xXxXxXx

The room around me is bright, so bright I can hardly see. I scrunch up my nose, and squeeze my eyes shut to keep the light out. I feel hungover, and I reach one hand up to cover my face. At least I try to, but a shock of pain keeps me from doing so. I hiss and my hair bristles.

“Oh, he’s awake!”

I slowly open up one eye, trying to find the face to match that somewhat familiar voice. Suddenly a mop of dark hair obscures my blurry vision, and I wince at the loud “Hello!” that meets my ears.

“Tachibana? What are you…?” My voice sounds low and scratchy, and my throat hurts when I speak. My vision slowly starts to clear, and I look around to see that my mother is here, as is my old coworker Shigeru. Floating over me is one Taisei Tachibana. Although his eyes are completely covered by his long bangs, I can tell he’s concerned by the way his antennae are drooping. He’s smiling, though, and I almost wonder why.

My mother comes over to hold my hand, and it’s only then that I realize I’m lying down. I sit up, despite the ache in my ribs and lower spine. I grunt as I manage to sit up all the way.

By now I can see perfectly fine. I see that I’m in a hospital room, and I look down at myself. One arm is in a cast, and the other is pretty banged up. There are angry red welts around my elbow, and I’m surprised they don’t hurt. I’m wearing a hospital gown, and I can just see what looks like gauze peeking through the collar.

“Mom, what…?”

“You really shouldn’t try to talk,” she chides me, voice full of worry, “at least not until your throat heals a bit.” I really start to wonder what could have happened. The last thing I could remember was going to the bank. Did something happen there?

I look up at my mother’s face, and she looks...disappointed? Did I do this to myself? I really doubt it; as unhappy as I am with my life, I’ve never considered ending it. Things could get better. Just not now, obviously.

Then I look to Taisei, who seems to be content just flitting from one end of the room to the other, apparently just happy to see me awake. But, even he seems uneasy, almost like he’s trying to cheer himself up or something.

Then I look to Shigeru. He’s a half-breed, like me. He’s usually very calm and collected, and is probably the most easy-going person I know. So it’s a little scary to be seeing him so angry. His plant-like hair is waving around, and his hands are clenched into fists in his lap. When he sees me looking at him he smiles, but his eyes are still dark.

“What happened to me?” Everyone in the room looked away then, not really wanting to meet my eyes. My mother, who I’ve only ever seen as willful and strong, started to weep. Taisei stood still for once in his life.

“You were attack’d by some gang, ‘s what I hear,” Shigeru said in his southern drawl, “think they were call’d the ‘Halfway Cross’ or sumthin’.”

A gang? A gang attacked me? When did this happen? I really don’t remember anything, and I’m pretty I’d remember something like that.

Then the memories come flooding back.

The elephant boy, the lizard, the powdery butterfly, a glimpse of a hat-

Arata?

I try to stand then, but I find that I can’t move my legs. I start to go into a panic, so Shigeru and my mother have to hold me down. I’m thrashing with my better arm, and a nurse has to come in and stick a needle into my IV. I’m calming down almost immediately, and some of my pain ebbs away.

My mother looks at me sadly, and I feel horrible for worrying her like this.

“My poor baby…” she weeps a little more, cupping my face gently in one of her tiny, frail hands. And I hiss at the shock of pain as she does so. She immediately pulls her hand away.

“My face…?” Why did that hurt? Did I get punched? I think I remember hitting my head on the ground. That might be it.

The room is quiet, and Taisei sits on the bed next to me. Pretty soon I start to feel sleepy once again, and it doesn’t take long for me to fall asleep once again. I dream of monsters, hats, and cheap booze.

xXxXxXx

I’ve been out of the hospital for a few weeks now. Most of my wounds have healed. My legs aren’t broken now, but I still have a hard time walking, and I need to be careful or else they could fracture. My arm is fine so long as I’m careful with it.

I also have to wear a patch on my cheek for a few more days. The people who attacked me, Arata included, apparently really had been a part of this “Halfway Cross” gang. They’d carved their logo, a sharp, pointed ‘X”, into my face. As I reminder, I assume. The Halfway Cross was an anti-halfie group of thugs that involved way more people than just the four who attacked me. They’ve been doing their business underground up until recently. I’m not their first victim. I’m lucky I was allowed to live.

On a lighter note, I’ve cut my hair. The prickly mullet I had before is gone now, leaving just a short, choppy mess of blonde bristles behind.

Shigeru is living with me now, at least for a little while. He said that people like us need to stick together. After that incident in the alleyway, I agree with him. We can protect eachother.

Arata and his crew had to go to court for what they did. I charged them with aggravated assault, attempted murder, stalking, and rape. The trial lasted two days, with only me to defend myself. I was my only witness. There were no onlookers who confessed to witnessing the crime. My mother hired a good lawyer by the name of Nishimura. We fought hard and well, but Arata’s group ended up only taking the assault charge. Each of them only had to do fifty hours of community service.

I was infuriated, but there isn’t much I can do. The only thing I can do is live my life as normally as I can, and pray to whatever cruel god out there that this doesn’t have to happen to anyone else. We didn’t ask to be born half human, half monster. We were just born this way.

I sigh as I lean into the crook of Shigeru’s arm, watching some shitty talk show on my shitty TV. They’re talking about me, so I turn it off and just try to relax.

Being in the minority sucks.

**Author's Note:**

> So, for my English Final I was supposed to write about the discrimination against people, particularly for their race. So I did monster racism because I'm a horrible person.
> 
> Credit to my twin sister for much of the world building!
> 
> Constructive criticism is always appreciated!


End file.
